Converting Your Documents to PDFs for NEH Grants

NEH requires that applicants submit their attachments to Grants.gov as portable

document format (.pdf).
PDF is a standard format for sharing data, and it is possible to convert many co
mmon file formats (Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect, etc.) to PDF using a wide
variety of PDF-generators, sometimes called distillers. PDF conversion is also b
uilt into Microsoft Office 2007. Some third-party PDF converters are free, many
are quite inexpensive and some are better than others. (See list of PDF generators
below.) If you use one of these applications, be sure to test the results ensure
that you and others can open and view the resulting PDF files using the free Ado
be Reader software.
If you scan something to create a PDF file, avoid scanning it at a high resoluti
on. Typically, NEH applications are read online by reviewers and panelists, so a
n image scanned at 100 dpi (dots or pixels per inch) will display very clearly o
n a computer monitor. An image scanned at higher resolution (300+ dpi) will resu
lt in a very large file, and it will usually not result in a better-quality disp
lay when viewed on a monitor. Large files can also cause problems with viewing o
r downloading your application. If your image must be seen at very high resoluti
on, consider posting it to a website and embedding a link to it in a PDF file.
If you scan text e.g. a letter or rsum or curriculum vitae do not scan it as an image,
even a relatively low-resolution image. Text should be scanned as text, using a
n optical character recognition (OCR) application. Scanning text with OCR softwa
re allows you to edit the text after it has been scanned, and allows you (and th
ose reading your application) to search for text within the document. Neither of
these things can be done if you scan the text and save it as an image.
If you need to include large media files in your application high-resolution image
s, video or sound files, or splashy multi-color reports you should consider embedd
ing links to these resources in your PDF files rather than including them in you
r application.
When creating PDFs, do not create PDF files that can only be read with the most
recent version(s) of the free Acrobat Reader. The better PDF-generators allow yo
u to specify which PDF version to produce. We recommend that you specify that yo
ur PDFs should be read by Acrobat Reader 6.x and higher (PDF standard 1.5). This
will ensure that your files can be viewed by older versions of Acrobat Reader.
(Note: The newest version is Adobe Reader 9.3.3.)
Do not include any security or encryption in your PDF files. Make sure that the
files are not read-only and that they are not password-protected.
Do not include attachments within your PDF files.
PDF GENERATORS
Below is a sampling of some of the PDF generators on the market, many of which a
re free or very low-cost. Please consult vendor websites for additional informat
ion. NEH does not endorse any particular software. The websites are listed in al
phabetical order.
Adobe
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatstd/main.html
Print driver that will work with any application. For PC or Mac.
Blue Squirrel

http://www.bluesquirrel.com/products/Click2PDF/
Print driver that will work with any application. For PC.
Create Adobe PDF Online
http://createpdf.adobe.com/
Web-based converter. Can be used by PC or Mac. Vendor e-mails PDF back to you.
CutePDF
http://www.cutepdf.com
Print driver that will work with any application. For PC.
Microsoft Office 2007 Save as PDF
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=f1fc413c-6d89-4...
Add-on for Microsoft Office allows you to export and save to the PDF format in e
ight Microsoft Office 2007 programs. (Note: Microsoft Office 2010 includes this
feature.)
Pdf995
http://site4.pdf995.com/
Print driver that will work with any application. For PC.
Win2PDF
http://www.win2pdf.com/
Print driver that will work with any application. For PC.
Wondersoft Virtual PDF Printer
http://www.go2pdf.com
Print driver that will work with any application. For PC.
Zeon Corporation
http://www.pdfwizard.com/
Print driver that will work with any application. For PC